Surgical drape or laminate



United States Patent 3,260,260 SURGICAL DRAPE 0R LAMINATE John M. Questel, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignor to Morgan Adhesives Company, Stow, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 396,826 6 Claims. (Cl. 128132) The present invention relates to special surgical drapes, or laminates, and particularly to structures that are useful during operations to shield the surgical area from an adjacent portion of the patient during the operation, or to facilitate cleaning the patient after the operation.

During operations, the patient may perspire and contaminate the surgical area. Also, sometimes it is difiicult to keep portions of the patients body clean and to prevent blood from the portion of the body being operated upon from flowing out over adjacent areas of the body. Hence it may be dilficult for the nurses and other attendants to clean a patient after he has had a lengthy, or difiicult operation performed on him.

Efforts have been made heretofore to provide some type of a cover sheet or drape that could be applied to a patient before an operation is performed so as to shield the surgical area from adjacent areas of the patient, or to simplify and facilitate clean-up of the patient, as well as to collect any foreign matter adjacent the operated area.

Some of these previous types of drapes 0r covers have been unsatisfactory as they have been difiicult to apply and/or remove.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved surgical drape or laminate which is adapted for convenient application to a patient and for convenient removal from the patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved laminate particularly suited for application to a patient for keeping an area of the patient clean, and/ or isolated while an operation is being performed on the patient, which surgical drape or laminate has a pair of handle means that are permanently attached to opposed marginal portions thereof to facilitate handling of the drape or laminate and application to the patient or removal of the laminate from the patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide a special flexible plastic sheet which has a pair of handles or strips attached to marginal portions thereof by a permanent adhesive and which has a cover sheet releasably attached to a center portion of the laminate for removal when the laminate or plastic film is to be applied to a patient.

Another object of the invention is to reduce costs of labor in operations.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent as the specification proceeds.

Attention is directed to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the laminate of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the laminate of FIG. 1.

When referring to corresponding members shown in the drawing and referred to in the specification, corresponding numerals are used to facilitate comparison therebetween.

In general, the present invention, as one embodiment thereof, relates to a surgical laminate comprising a thin plastic film having a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the center portion of one face or surface thereof, strip layers on the cover means adhesively attached to a pair of opposed margins of the film, and a cover sheet on the portion of the film intermediate the strip layers thereon, the cover sheet being releasably attached to the film so that the laminate can be grasped by the strip layers and be attached to or removed from a person and be attached to the person by the adhesive layer after the cover sheet has been removed.

With reference to the structure shown in the drawings, an improved surgical laminate or drape is indicated as a whole by the numeral 1. This laminate 1 comprises a flexible, thin, usually substantially transparent film, such as one made from a polyvinyl chloride resin or the like, which film is indicated by the numeral 2. A layer of a conventional type of adhesive, preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive is indicated at 3, and this covers at least the center portion of one face, or surface area of the film 2.

The drawing clearly shows that a pair of handles, or strip means such as a pair of paper strips 4 and 5 are secured to opposed lateral margins of the laminate 1. In this instance, the adhesive layer or film 3 extends the complete width of the film 2 and with the strips 4 and 5 being aifixed to the film by this adhesive layer 3.

A suitable cover sheet is releasably attached to the film 2 intermediate the strip layers or handle means 4 and 5 and in this instance a cover sheet 6 is provided. This cover sheet can be made from a material such as a low friction smooth surfaced plastic, such as Mylar, which is a product of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. so that the cover sheet can be readily grasped and be removed from adhesion to the surface of the fi-lm 2. H desired, the cover sheet 6 may be made from a conventional material such as a paper that has, as shown in the drawing, a layer of conventional silicone release substance 7 aflixed thereto. Thus the cover sheet 6 can readily be removed from association with the center portion of the laminate 1. Hence, when it is desired to apply this surgical drape or laminate of the invention to a patient, the cover sheet 6 would be grasped by the corner or edge portion thereof and be pulled from the center portion of the laminate. Then the laminate would be atfixed to a patient by the adhesive layer 3, such as prior to performing an operation upon a patient. Then when the operation is complete, the handle or strip layers 4 and 5 can be grasped by an attendant and the laminate can be readily and easily removed from the patient with any blood or other material thereon being carried by the laminate so as to leave a clean surface on the patient adjacent the operative area. i

The plastic him 1 can be applied to a patient by use of the inexpensive handle means 4 and 5 without contamination of the initially protected face of the plastic film that can be pressed into tight engagement with the patients skin. The handles facilitate convenient removal of the plastic film 1, after the operation.

When making the surgical drape or laminate of the invention, normally the entire laminate is sterilized after its assembly. Thus, preferably the surgical drape or laminate is placed in a package, and the entire package and contents are then sterilized, as by exposure to ethylene oxide. The package then would be completely sealed and be distributed for use. Hence, when the drape or lami nate is taken from the package, the person applying the drape would only grasp it by the handles and would not touch any other operative portion of the drape when preparing it for use or when applying it.

It will be realized that this surgical drape of the invention preferably is applied over the body area of a patient on which an operation is performed. Thus after the outer surface of the patient has been prepared and cleansed in accordance with conventional procedures and then the surgical drape has the cover sheet 6 removed therefrom and the exposed pressure sensitive adhesive layer 3 on the film is applied to the patient. The plastic film 2 used in the laminate of the invention usually has a matte finish and is at least substantially transparent so that the doctor then can cut through the plastic film and perform the desired operation. As most patients perspire quite a bit during an operation and such perspiration may carry impure materials from the patients pores out to points adjacent the surgical incision to contaminate the incision, the surgical drape is used to seal the skin adjacent the surgical incision. By the use of the drape of the invention, these perspiration glands adjacent the incision are sealed during the operation and the surgical incision cannot be contaminated by perspiration from the patient during the operation.

The plastic film 2 is liquid impervious and may be of about .002 in thickness. The film is made from a material that is not affected by the sterilization action used on the finished laminate.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the objects of the invention have been achieved.

While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that modification of this particular embodiment of the invention may be resorted to Without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A surgical laminate comprising a polyvinyl film having a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the center portion of one face thereof, strip layers of a cover means on a pair of opposed margins of said film and adhesively attached thereto,

a cover sheet for the center portion of said film, and

a layer of release material on one face of said cover sheet, said cover sheet being attached to the center portion of said film with said release material being between said film and cover sheet whereby the laminate can be grasped by said strip layers and be attached to a person by said adhesive layer after said cover sheet has been removed.

2. A surgical laminate comprising a polyvinyl film having a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on one face thereof,

strips of a cover means on a pair of opposed margins of said film and adhesively attached thereto, and

a cover sheet for the center portion of said film,

said cover sheet being releasably attached to said film intermediate said strips whereby the laminate can be grasped by said strips and be attached to a person by said adhesive layer after said cover sheet has been removed.

3. A surgical laminate comprising a thin plastic fihn having a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the center portion of one face thereof, strip layers of a cover means on a pair of opposed margins of said film and adhesively attached thereto, and

a cover sheet for the center portion of said film,

said cover sheet being releasably attached to said film whereby the laminate can be grasped by said strip layers and be attached to a person by said adhesive layer after said cover sheet has been removed.

4. A surgical drape, or member comprising a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive carried by one face surface of said film,

reenforcing handle strips secured to said film by said adhesive layer at a pair of opposed margins thereof,

a flexible paper covering layer of a size to cover said film between said handle strips, and

a layer of release material on one surface of said paper covering layer,

said paper covering layer being releasably attached to said adhesive layer intermediate said handle strips by said release material layer.

5. A surgical drape, or member comprising a polyvinyl chloride film,

a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive carried by one face surface of said film,

reenforcing paper strips secured to said film by said adhesive layer at a pair of opposed margins thereof to form handle means therefor,

a flexible paper covering layer of a size to cover said film between said paper strips, and

a layer of release material on one surface of said paper covering layer,

said paper covering layer being releasably attached to said adhesive layer intermediate said handle strips by said release material layer.

6. A surgical laminate comprising a water impervious at least substantially transparent plastic film having a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the center portion of one face thereof, said film being about .002" thick,

strip layers of a cover means on a pair of opposed margins of said film and adhesively attached thereto, and

a cover sheet for the center portion of said film,

said cover sheet being releasably attached to said film whereby the laminate can be grasped by said strip layers and said film can be attached to a person by said adhesive layer after said cover sheet has been removed to form a perspiration barrier over the area of the person covered by said film.

References Cited by the Examiner Vinyl Surgical Drape, Modern Plastics, May 1951, page 61.

Whatever the Procedure, Annals of Surgery, September 1960, page 54.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SURGICAL LAMINATE COMPRISING A POLYVINYL FILM HAVING A LAYER OF PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE ON THE CENTER PORTION OF ONE FACE THEREOF, STRIP LAYERS OF A CONVER MEANS ON A PAIR OF OPPOSED MARGINS OF SAID FILM AND ADHESIVELY ATTACHED THERETO, A COVER SHEET FOR THE CENTER PORTION OF SAID FILM, AND A LAYER OF RELEASE MATERIAL ON ONE FACE OF SAID COVER SHEET, SAID COVER SHEET BEING ATTACHED TO THE CENTER PORTION OF SAID FILM WITH SAID RELEASE MATERIAL BEING BETWEEN SAID FILM AND COVER SHEET WHEREBY THE LAMINATE CAN BE GRASPED BY SAID STRIP LAYERS AND BE ATATCHED TO A PERSON BY SAID ADHESIVE LAYER AFTER SAID COVER SHEET HAS BEEN REMOVED. 